This was our third straight year in Denver attending the Great American Beer Festival. After our first visit we thought we could take or leave America’s largest beer tasting. But since then we have grown quite fond of GABF.

So enjoy our latest beer adventures at the Great American Beer Festival…

Saturday dawned at the Great American Beer Festival with the gusto of having burned the candle at every possible end for the previous two days. Neither of us was anything approaching bright-eyed and bushy-tailed but there was a light at the end of tunnel. We were only going the member’s session on Saturday then flying home. We would safely be back in our bed with the pups on Saturday night.

The employee Longshot brews

We started our day at Marlowe’s for a breakfast hosted by Boston Beer Company. Besides food, beer and friends, we were at Marlowe’s to hear Jim Koch announce the winners of their Longshot homebrew contests. There were two announcements, the winner of the national contest, as well as the Boston Beer Company homebrew contest winner. As opposed to years past, the 2010 edition of Longshot had all entrants create brews fitting category 23 of BJCP, “Specialty” beer.

When we arrived, they had just started pouring the three employee finalist’s brews. Over 300 employee entries were brewed and the three finalists were all women; all first time hombrewers. Besides enjoying a breakfast, our job was to try these beers and vote for our favorite.

Samuel Adam’s Barrel Room Collection

Besides the Longshot beers, the breakfast was also a chance to try some special Sam Adams brews that I don’t often see or have the inclination to buy. This year the special brews were from the Barrel House Collection, American Kriek, New World Tripel and Stony Brook Red. I’m not the biggest Sam Adams fan in the world but all three beers were excellent. If I had to chose a favorite, it probably was a Stony Brook Red, a fabulous tart brew that hid it’s 9% ABV quite well.

Jim Koch with the three Longshot winners.

This year, two winners were chosen. Rodney Kibzey won Longshot for the second time with Blackened Hops, a Black IPA. He was joined by Richard Roper who brewed Friar Hop Ale, a really delicious Belgian-style IPA. Caitlin DeClerq triumphed in the employee contest with Honey Beer’s Lavender Wheat. My second time voting in the employee contest; my second time not choosing the winner.

Gone in 20 minutes…

Arriving at the member’s session, Merideth and I bee-lined for the Sierra Nevada booth. Well, I bee-lined and she followed. I had learned the previous night that they would be tapping a rare keg of Bourbon Barrel-aged Life and Limb. Very first in line, I was disappointed when Sierra Nevada Bill told me that the tapping wasn’t going to happen for an hour. I’ll admit, I begged and pleaded. And I got the first pour. I think I like regular Life and Limb more, as the barrel aging overwhelmed the maple flavor that I enjoyed in that brew. It was still really good, though.

Merideth was finally ready to have a beer. She started easy with Magnolia’s wonderful Kalifornia Kolsch. That must have done the trick because next thing I know Merideth was sampling Onslaught, a 9.6% ABV Belgo-American Imperial IPA from Mountain Sun in Boulder. Despite being way outside her comfort zone, Merideth liked it.

After wandering around for about an hour talking with friends and running into Mr. Beer Goddess about a dozen times, we finally heard the announcement. The awards ceremony was about to start. We joined the mass migration to the stage area. We found a nice spot near the large orange-clad, cowbell ringing contingent from Iron Hill.

I really enjoy the awards ceremony. It’s my favorite part of GABF. The crowd groans and chuckles when Category 30 medals (American-style Specialty Lager or Cream Ale) were announced: Hamms, Rainier and Old Style. But it’s the special moments that I like the best. We were standing in front of the Fat Head’s brewers when they won the silver medal in the hard fought IPA category. The looks on their faces was priceless.

Very happy people from Blue Lake, CA

Congratulations to our friends who won medals this year: Steve Donohue from Firehouse Grill and Brewery, Shaun O’Sullivan from 21st Amendment and Rodger Davis from Triple Rock. And a very big congrats goes out to Mad River Brewing Company for winning Small Brewing Company and Small Brewing Company Brewer of the year! I regret to say that Mad River had fallen off my radar in the last decade or so. I guess I need to revisit their brews.

Oh, to answer the two questions, Pizza Port Carlsbad won another boat load of medals and Union Jack did not three-peat.

Merideth and Melissa Cole

After the awards ceremony, Merideth and I were in wind down mode because right after the session, we were headed to the airport. While we searched out a few award winners, we had one more major task to accomplish before we left: find Melissa Cole. A beer writer from London, we have been online friends with her for quite some time but had never met. It took us awhile but we finally found her with about an hour left in the session. It was great to finally meet.

Seven hours after we walked out of the Colorado Convention Center, we were at home with Porter and Stout jumping all over us. Another great trip to Denver was over. I am already looking forward to the 2011 Great American Beer Festival.

We couldn’t travel to Denver without visiting a few new breweries. It’s what we do. Plus, with the year winding down, I wanted to pick up three or four to help with our goal of reaching 600 by year’s end. The problem is that the eastern slope of the Rockies is well traveled territory for us. After a bit of research, I found four potential targets just south of Denver.

We were on the road late morning to reach our first stop at their 11am opening time. After what seemed like a million traffic signals, we were at our first destination, Hops Restaurant and Brewery, in the Denver suburb of Littleton.

Hops Restaurant and Brewery in Littleton

I know I should have more of an open mind, but I’ll admit I am not a huge fan of chain breweries. My expectations tend to be low and I just view them as a notch on the bed post. However, we were pleasantly surprised at Hops. The staff was very friendly, even after we told them we were on a brewery tour so we only wanted a taster set.

The taster set at Hops

And the beers were not too bad. My biggest beef with chains is that their beers usually taste the same no matter what style they’re supposed to be. Not so at Hops. There were a couple of flavorful beers amongst our six beer sampler. I thought the Thoroughbred Red and the Hoptoberfest were the best while Merideth’s favorite (although she’s embarrassed to admit it) was the Clearwater Light.

After visiting nearly 600 breweries, I have developed a sixth sense about when a brewery visit will potentially be a problem. It’s that “uh oh” feeling I get that tells me the brewery is going to be either a) closed, b) closed for good or c) not have any of their own beers.

Our second stop, Falcon Brewing in Parker, was one of those breweries where I got the “feeling.” Before our trip, I confirmed that the other brewery in Parker was open, so it wasn’t going to be a complete loss if my feeling about Falcon was correct.

And the correct prediction was… C. Falcon was out of their beer. The bartender told us that the house brews would be ready in a week. Even, “Oh, well, we’re from California” didn’t get us any samples from the fermenters. Out of luck, we headed over to Parker’s other brewery.

The wonderful beers of Elk Mountain

Elk Mountain Brewing was the pleasant surprise of the trip. Located in an industrial park off the main road into Parker, the tasting room is bright and spacious with that really new feel. That made a lot of sense as Elk Mountain had held its grand opening party just one month before. Like many of the new generation of beer places we have visited recently, Elk Mountain does not have food, but provides a number of takeout menus from local restaurants who will deliver.

Taster set paddle made from an old snowshoe

As one of the only customers early on a Friday, we had a chance to chat with Tom, brewer/owner and his assistant. Elk Mountain is apparently known for their German-style beers and it showed with a wonderful Hefeweizen, Wild Wapiti Wheat. Lots of banana and clove, just how I like it. Merideth loved the clean and crisp Mine Shaft Kölsch. However, Puma IPA was the star of the show. A wonderful hop bomb!

One up on Merideth again…We had one more

We had one more stop before returning to Denver. Merideth picked up Dry Dock Brewing a few months back on a trip without me. That was an important moment for her as she leveled the brewery count. To show what a wonderful husband I am, I offered to skip Dry Dock on this trip so we could reach 600 at the same brewery this December in Europe (I’m such a romantic!). Merideth said not to worry about it and it was okay to go to Dry Dock. However, once there, she engaged in a bit of whining and claimed not to remember this pre -trip conversation.

Enjoying an 11 beer taster set at Dry Dock

A few hours before the Friday night session, Dry Dock was hopping when we rolled in. The bartender was quickly and efficiently pouring taster set after taster set. Wanting to try all 11 beers, we ordered an almost double taster set and found a table in the corner.

Dry Dock subsequently won four silver medals at GABF the following day, but unfortunately only one of those beers would be available on our visit. U-Boat Hefeweizen was the second great Hefe of the day!

However, the beer I really went to Dry Dock for was Seven Seas Double IPA. I drank it for the first time the day before at Falling Rock. This massive hop bomb was my favorite beer of the trip and I was hoping to bring some home. When I inquired about purchasing a couple of bottles, the bartenders reaction told me I was light years too late. After a few sips of each of our beer samples, we slipped out and headed back to Denver. I had picked up three breweries, Merideth two; closer and closer to 600.

Enjoying a few of the Squatters brews

In our two previous GABFs, we have shied away from both the Friday and Saturday night sessions. They have the reputation for being really crowded with long beer lines. Not the kind of scene Merideth and I generally like. But this year, we attended Friday night’s session mainly because the beermen.TV guys were going. They missed meeting up with us at Falling Rock before the session (something about needing a beauty nap), so we agreed to hook up with them at the session.

Finding three Aussies and a Kiwi at the Friday night session was easier said than done. Employing our wandering down the aisle choosing breweries without lines tactic, we figured we would run into them sooner or later. Halfway through the three hour session, we still hadn’t found them. By 8:30pm, the crowds were getting too large for our enjoyment so we gave up our quest and left the festival.

Drinking an Asher Amber at Freshcraft

We couldn’t leave Denver without trying one of the new beer establishments in the city. There were a number to choose from but we selected Freshcraft, mainly because it was a few blocks from Falling Rock. With the GABF session still going on, Merideth and I easily found a spot at the bar.

Earlier in the day, we learned from our friend and Colorado beer writer, Dan Rabin, that Boulder had a new organic brewery, Asher Brewing Company. What a coincidence… the first beer listed on the menu was Asher Amber. Merideth and I both ordered a pint of this really nice brew. After the din of the GABF session, it was nice to wind down a bit and have some dinner. Even the semi-annoying birthday girl couldn’t even damper our relaxation, though she tried hard.

Getting crowded at Freshcraft

But once the GABF session ended, the small restaurant filled up quickly and we felt pressed up against the bar. The party really got started when Greg Koch from Stone arrived to do an event in the back of the restaurant. At the same time, Odell Brewing started pouring a firkin of their Bourbon barrel-aged Stout. After chatting with Joe, a brewer from Odell for a few minutes and trying the Stout, we finally had enough for the day. Merideth and I looked at each other, giving each other the “it’s time to call it a night” look. We left Freshcraft and headed back to our hotel.

It was that time of year again… the pilgrimage of beer geeks from all over the world to Denver for the Great American Beer Festival. Merideth and I were going for the third year in a row with the added bonus of our friends from beermenTV coming in from Australia to join in the fun. We arrived mid-morning in Denver and parted ways at the airport. While she took care of some business, I headed into Denver to hang out, waiting for her call. And by hang out, I mean drink beer…. sorta.

Denver 2001: The big smile says it all…

We had lived out this scenario once before on our first visit to Denver in 2001. While waiting for Merideth, I visited several of the numerous beer places in Denver (Falling Rock and Great Divide come to mind). By the time we were reunited in the evening, I was completely pissed. Merideth knows when I’ve had a lot to drink because I start telling her all these great entrepreneurial ideas that I have. After the second completely brilliant idea, she says to me, “Are your drunk?” Fast forward to 2010: as we said our goodbyes at the airport, I gave Merideth a kiss and promised that this year would not be a repeat of 2001.

I dropped my bag off at our hotel and I really wasn’t sure what to do next. With probably six hours to display some sort of self-control, delaying tactics were certainly in order. I left the hotel and wandered leisurely in the direction of the Convention Center to pick up our passes. There was no line so that took all of fifteen minutes. But they had given me a bunch of printed materials that I didn’t want to carry around, so I headed back to the hotel to drop the folder off. Another fifteen minutes off the clock.

The beer choices at Great Divide

Now I felt silly. I couldn’t do this all day. I made my first real decision. I would walk over to Great Divide and get a Titan IPA. Maybe a friend would even be there and I would have someone to chat with. Great Divide was crowded when I arrived. There was an industry get-together about to start in the brewery and the invitees were all crowded in the bar area getting a head start. Despite the number of people, I quickly had a glass of Titan IPA in my hand.

The lively crowd at Great Divide

Glancing around, my heart sank. I knew no one. Well, there were the Alström brothers but we’re not quite on a first name basis yet. As I settled into a spot in corner of the tasting room, an odd feeling settled over me. I realized I was alone, without Merideth. We rarely spend any time apart and especially not during beer travels. In my mind, everyone was staring at me thinking “who is that loser here all alone…”

Three very friendly guys from Texas tried to engage me in conversation. But I was too frazzled to manage much conversation beyond that they were from Houston and it took them 18 hours driving to get to Denver. I resolved to finish my Titan and walk over to Falling Rock Tap House. I WOULD know someone there.

Thursday afternoon at Falling Rock Tap House

Falling Rock was crowded but not as crowded as I thought it might have been a few hours before the first GABF session. Fortuitously, I was reunited with Lisa and Mark (Beer Goddess and Mr. Beer Goddess). I had shared a shuttle from the airport into the city with them a few hours before. During the ride over, I told them the 2001 story and my pledge to Merideth. I had even put them in charge of keeping an eye on me. Joining them at an outside table, I ordered some much needed food and my second beer of the day, an Odell IPA.

The afternoon went smoothly after that. I chatted with Mark and Lisa, the two Matts from Big Sky and three quarters of the beermenTV crew. I even moderated my drinking though that became more difficult once the Aussies arrived.

Merideth finally called around 3:30pm. I left everyone at Falling Rock to connect with her at the hotel and get ready for the first GABF session.

Thursday night at GABF

For some reason, I always need a strategy or theme to choosing beers at GABF. In the past, I have focused on breweries with no lines. This year, I thought I was particularly brilliant. I would try beers from breweries that I had never heard of. Given the sparsity of our beer travels in the South and Midwest, I thought this would afford me a large number of targets.

Two things went wrong with my “brilliant” strategy. First, the beers from earlier in the day finally must have caught up with me because my very first beer from a brewery that I have never heard of… was a brewery that we visited in 2007.

Hanging out with Mark from beermenTV

The second problem was more perplexing. There had to be plenty of breweries that I never heard of making great beer. But after the first five or six beers I tried, I had yet to have one I liked. After the sixth disappointing beer, I spied the Fat Heads booth. From North Olmsted, OH, I knew of Fat Heads from their surprise win at the Bistro’s IPA festival a few years ago. Never having tried any of their winning brews, the brilliant strategy was ditched. Head Hunter IPA was a great beer. The rest of the evening, I stuck with more sure things.

Nathen Maxwell performing his Bunny gang songs

Our GABF evening was short. With still two hours left in the Thursday night session, we left the beer world and assumed our punk music fan personas. As many of you know, we are huge Flogging Molly fans. Nathen Maxwell, bassist for the band was playing a solo acoustic show at a Denver Irish pub, Scruffy Murphys. He has a side project band called Nathen Maxwell and the Original Bunny Gang where he performs his own songs. We spent the rest of the evening listening to Nate and a few other local musicians. Nate was awesome but Todd, lead singer of the Denver punk/ska band Synthetic Elements stole the show with his acoustic cover of Lady Gaga’s “Poker Face.”

Despite our whining about the one ounce pours, the Great American Beer Festival member’s session is now a highlight of our beer year. Beyond the vast beer choices, GABF is the one time of year where most of our beer friends from around the country gather in one place. Good beer, good friends… that’s what it’s all about.

Who is thebeergeek.com

Merideth Canham Nelson’s appreciation of beer developed in 1992 while working at a multi-tap pub in Oakland, California. She wanted to be knowledgeable about the beer she was serving and the best way to do it was to visit the breweries themselves. Merideth has visited over 1,000 breweries in her beer travels. When she is not traveling, Merideth works as a Licensed Clinical Social Worker. Read more about Merideth

When not traveling Chris Nelson represents Discretion Brewing in Monterey County, as well as raises the couple’s dachshunds Wit, Hacker and Schwarz. In 2007, Chris, out of 7,800 applicants from 31 countries, was a final four candidate for Four Points by Sheraton’s coveted position of Chief Beer Officer. A beer traveler for 20 years, Chris has visited over 1,000 breweries throughout the world. Read more about Chris